Can you fire .17 HMR in a revolver chambered for .22 WMR?

I assume that the accuracy would be awful, but would it be safe/possible to fire a .17 HMR in a .22 magnum revolver?

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dfariswheel

February 14, 2006, 07:12 PM

You cannot safely fire a 17HRM is a .22 Magnum chamber.

The case would likely rupture where it's necked down.

RyanM

February 14, 2006, 07:14 PM

Physically possible, but I doubt it would be very safe. The case would probably split and/or shatter. The bullet would probably yaw inside the barrel and break into pieces. Plus the uncontained hot gasses blowing out around the bullet are supposed to be bad for the bore. At least that's why they say to never try firing .355" bullets out of a 9x18mm Makarov.

KriegHund

February 14, 2006, 07:16 PM

BAD idea.

Its akin to saying "Can you fire a .223 out of a .308 rifle?"
Only less dangorous (Less being the key word)

admiral

February 14, 2006, 07:29 PM

it would be possible but it wouldn't be safe. the 17 would be grossly undersized and the bullet may lodge in the barrel. accuracy would be terrible if it did exit (it probably would). the neck of the 17 would split open trying to fill the chamber and probably send brass bits flying.

NOPE, COULDN'T RECOMMEND IT

grimjaw

February 14, 2006, 08:19 PM

Oh oh I know this one! I asked the same questions months ago!

No, you can't.

:)

jmm

JMusic

February 17, 2006, 11:44 PM

Sure you can! I don't know what these other guys are thinking. You also can swim in a croc infested swamp, swim with starving sharks, and crawl into a pit of poisonois snakes. :neener:

Rpriestlyjr

February 17, 2006, 11:53 PM

Why didn't anyone think of swimming with hungry sharks before???
Didn't Jacques Cousteau's son get killed at the mouth of the Shagris River in Panama swimming with Hammerheads? That is a breeding ground for those toothy suckers.
Sounds like fun. can I watch?
:D

thatguy

February 18, 2006, 08:58 AM

It's never recommended to use the wrong cartridge. But I doubt that anything really bad would happen. Nothing good would happen, either. Pressure would be very low due to the excessive chamber size and grossly over-sized bore. The case would swell and split in the chamber and the bullet would rattle down the bore at 100-300 FPS and fall to the ground about 100 feet from the muzzle.

I routinely fire-form cases for my .460 G&A (.404 necked up to .458 and blown out) by shooting .404 Jefferey ammo in the gun which causes the case to form to the correct dimensions in the chamber. The report is mostly a loud PHFFFT! and the bullet goes about as far as I can throw it on a good day.

The late Skeeter Skelton wrote of shooting .38-40s in .44-40 revolvers and said that velocity and accuracy were crap and the casses were ruined but otherwise not much happened.

hksw

February 18, 2006, 10:53 AM

The case would likely rupture where it's necked down.

(Edited. Misread the quote.)

Certainly the .17HMR will shoot through a .22mag chambered firearm. Will it harm anything? IMO, no.

Plenty of folks inadvertantly (for the most part) shoot 9mm through .40SW, .40SW through .45ACP. Only damage I've seen of those shootings are the case mouth (and upper portion of the case) expanding to the larger size without even splitting. Gun fires, bullet comes out, slides don't cycle. No surprise there.

Sistema1927

February 18, 2006, 11:40 AM

I have to ask (after seeing a couple of similar threads):

Why would you even want to try this?

Savage.250

February 20, 2006, 01:00 AM

I can't believe I keep running into these threads.:scrutiny:

If one was new to the shooting sports and its a legit question because one didn't know, then alright. Its NOT a good idea. Now ya know.

This is almost, (not quite), but close to another thread talking about shoving wooden dowls and othe misc. material down a barrel of a loaded gun and pulling the trigger. What is the purpose of even contimplating it??? IMO nothing good will EVER come from loading firearms with wrong size ammo, questions about loading cartridges hotter then the recommended loads and firing bullets along with other materials out of rifle (or anyother firearm) barrels simultaneously.

Lets not let curiosity get the better of us. We lose digits, limbs and lives this way.

gunner03

February 20, 2006, 01:27 AM

What about a S&W.40 in a 10mm???? Someone told me, and I have not looked into it,that it works fine. Kinda like the .38 in the .357. Thoughts on that?

JohnKSa

February 20, 2006, 11:56 PM

What about a S&W.40 in a 10mm????Yes you can safely shoot .40S&W in a 10mm revolver if you're using half or full moon clips.

Yes and no in an autopistol. Yes, because it's not particularly dangerous if you don't make a habit of it. No, because it can cause a couple of unlikely but dangerous condition, and because it stresses the extractor and may break it.

If you're life depends on it, then go for it. If you're just playing around it's not worth it. You can buy a conversion barrel for most 10mm autopistols that will allow you to shoot .40S&W safely.

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